What is Vake, and where does it end?
Vake is Tbilisi's established prestige district: tree-lined avenues, Vake Park, the main building of Tbilisi State University and the city's highest rents. The name covers two different areas. The administrative district is one of Tbilisi's 10, covering 61.7 km² and home to 111,903 people at the 2014 census, about 10% of the city; besides the historic neighbourhood it includes Bagebi, Upper Saburtalo, the Nutsubidze Plateau and the hill settlements up the Tskneti road, such as Tskneti and Betania. The Vake that buyers usually mean is the flat area around Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue and Vake Park, between Vera and the slopes of the Mtatsminda ridge.
The difference matters when you read data. Galt & Taggart's district figures treat Vashlijvari, which belongs to Saburtalo district, as a separate zone, and in November 2024 it priced new flats there at USD 991 per m² against USD 2,378 in Vake. Chavchavadze Avenue, about 2.5 km long and built from the 1930s, is the district's spine, and Vake Park opened in 1946. This page covers prices and rents, transport, schools, parks and air, planning disputes and new projects, and who the district suits. How Vake compares with the rest of the city is in our Tbilisi guide, and its eastern neighbour in our guide to Vera.
Map and boundaries
Central Vake runs along Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue from Vera to Vake Park, with the Vere valley and Mziuri Park to the north and the Mtatsminda ridge and Turtle Lake to the south; the administrative district continues south-west up the Tskneti road to Bagebi, Tskneti and Betania.
Open the mapThe current district boundaries were set by Tbilisi City Council in December 2014. When Didgori district was abolished in 2013, Tskneti, Betania and Akhaldaba were added to Vake, so the district now stretches from dense city blocks to forested hill villages. Listings follow their own map, so check where a flat advertised as Vake actually stands, and which area any statistic you compare it with describes: a district average mixes Chavchavadze Avenue with the Nutsubidze Plateau and Tskneti.
Who Vake suits
Suits
- Families who want parks, established schools and international schools within reach, as our Tbilisi guide describes.
- Long-let landlords targeting tenants with higher budgets, in the district with the city's highest rent per m².
- Buyers who value a settled, central address and expect to resell to the same kind of buyer.
Does not suit
- Anyone who wants to live next to a metro station: the district has none.
- Yield-first investors, because prices are high in relation to rent.
- Buyers on a tight budget, unless they accept an older block or a flat on the district's edges.
What flats cost and rent for
| Indicator | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| New flats from developers | USD 2,378 per m² | November 2024, Galt & Taggart |
| New flats from developers | USD 2,544 per m² | April 2025, Galt & Taggart |
| New flats from developers | USD 2,781 per m² | December 2025; 1,327 sales in 2025; Galt & Taggart |
| New flats from developers | USD 3,180 per m² | July 2026, range USD 2,000 to 5,750, 124 sales in the month |
| New flats, asking price | GEL 5,958 per m² | Geostat, first quarter of 2026, second only to Mtatsminda |
| Resale flats, asking price | USD 2,299 per m² | TBC Capital, October 2025, the highest district |
| Resale flats, asking price | USD 2,276 per m² | TBC Capital, March 2026, 7% above a year earlier |
| Rent for a new flat | USD 15.1 per m² a month | July 2026, Galt & Taggart; about USD 831 for 55 m² |
| Monthly rent range | USD 700 to 1,500 and more | Georgia Today asking ranges, August 2026 |
The trend is up but not smooth. Galt & Taggart's Vake figure rose from USD 2,378 per m² in November 2024 to USD 3,180 in July 2026, but it moved down between April and September 2025, and TBC Capital reported resale prices in Vake 9% lower in November 2025 than a year earlier, while the city average rose 4%. A district with about 100 developer sales a month can swing with the mix of projects that sell, so compare a flat with sales in its own building and street rather than with a single month.
Two cautions apply to every figure. Galt & Taggart's prices are for new flats sold in white frame, so finishing comes on top; Geostat's are median asking prices of completed new homes scraped from myhome.ge and ss.ge. No source publishes a Vake price split by building age, so for an older block ask the agent for registered sale prices in the same building. Rent of USD 15.1 per m² against a price of USD 3,180 gives a gross yield of about 5.7% by our calculation, well below the city average of 8.5%; yields across all districts are compared in our guide to rental yields.
Getting around
Vake has no metro station. The nearest stations are on Line 2 in Saburtalo, among them Delisi, Vazha-Pshavela and State University, and Rustaveli on Line 1 at the eastern end of Chavchavadze Avenue, so daily trips depend on buses, taxis and cars. City Hall's notices list buses 309, 351 and 358 on the Vake Park route. Two cable cars help on the slopes: the Turtle Lake ropeway from Vake Park, opened in October 2016 and charging GEL 1 a ride, outside the 90-minute transit ticket; and the 320-metre University-Bagebi ropeway, which links Tbilisi State University's upper buildings with Bagebi in under 4 minutes and is included in the 90-minute ticket.
The streets themselves have been rebuilt. Tsereteli and Cholokashvili streets, from Vake Park to the Tskneti road, reopened in September 2025 after a GEL 24 million reconstruction with new utilities, buried cables and smart traffic lights. The new tram line under contract since September 2026 runs from Didi Dighomi to Didube and does not reach Vake. For parking, City Hall extended hourly paid zones in June 2025, including 100 spaces in Bagebi, with free parking for cars registered at an address in the zone. If the daily commute matters, test it at 9 in the morning before you buy.
Universities and schools
Vake is the city's main university district. Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, founded on 8 February 1918 and the first university in the South Caucasus, has its main building at 1 Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue and almost 26,000 students; Ilia State University is on Cholokashvili Avenue. Among well-known public schools in the area, Vladimer Komarov Physics and Mathematics School No 199, a selective school that marked its 60th anniversary in May 2026, was scheduled for renovation in August 2026.
Several international schools sit along the Tskneti road in the district's upper part: New School, an IB school for ages 5 to 19 at 35 Tskneti Highway in Bagebi, and the German International School at Tskneti Highway 63. Two schools often linked with Vake are in fact in Saburtalo district: the British International School of Tbilisi near Lisi Lake and QSI in Zurgovani. Families should check the school run from a specific address at the morning peak; fees and places change each year, so confirm them with the school. Who rents near these schools is covered in our guide to long-term tenants in Tbilisi.
Parks, noise and air
- Vake Park. Opened in 1946; its fountains and cascade are being rebuilt from July 2025, with completion expected in spring 2027.
- Turtle Lake. A small lake at 686.7 metres on the slope above the park, reached by the ropeway.
- Mziuri Park. In the Vere valley, destroyed by the June 2015 flood and reopened on 13 June 2020 after a rebuild of about GEL 7.8 million financed by the European Investment Bank.
- The zoo site. City Hall announced in September 2025 that the zoo is moving to the Tbilisi Sea area and that its Vere valley site will become green space joined to Mziuri, linking Vake and Saburtalo.
Air quality is measured only partly. None of Tbilisi's 5 automatic monitoring stations is in Vake; the nearest is on Kazbegi Avenue in Saburtalo. The government's 2024 air quality plan lists passive sampling points in Vake Park, at 44 Chavchavadze Avenue and at 27 Abashidze Street, but publishes no per-point results. Across the city, fine particles (PM2.5) averaged 15 to 20 µg/m³ at the urban stations, within Georgia's limit since 2020 but 3 to 4 times the WHO guideline, and nitrogen dioxide averaged about 40 µg/m³, the annual limit. The same plan estimates that construction and demolition cause 59% of PM2.5 emissions in the Tbilisi area, which is worth remembering in a district with large building sites. We found no noise measurements for Chavchavadze Avenue.
Planning disputes and new projects
Several of Tbilisi's best-known planning disputes have been about Vake. Three cases show how they played out:
- The Vake Park hotel. An 8-storey hotel planned on the site of an old restaurant in the park, on land bought in 2013, was fought by activists for 6 years; a court ordered the permit reconsidered in 2016, and in January 2020 the mayor announced an agreement with the investor to cancel the project.
- The tower at 49 Chavchavadze Avenue. On the former Sports University site, VR Holding's redesign approved at the end of 2024 raised the planned height from 180 to 230 metres and from 47 to 56 floors, with parking rising from 310 to 643 spaces; Werner Sobek's project page lists construction from 2024 to 2029.
- The former student halls. High-rise plans for the 1930s student halls on Chavchavadze Avenue, now housing displaced families, were rejected in 2021.
The city's land use master plan of 15 March 2019 restricted raising building coefficients through regulatory plans and special agreements. Completed schemes in recent years include Axis Towers, two 147-metre towers with a Pullman hotel, offices and apartments, and Namai Vake by the Lithuanian-capital BI Group, opened in June 2022. Before buying in a new project, check its permit, the developer's record and the stage of construction with our developer checklist.
Slopes need care too. In March 2021 a landslide hit the road between Vashlijvari and the Nutsubidze Plateau, and geologists quoted at the time blamed construction loading on the slope. For a flat on the district's hillsides, ask whether the building's foundation and retaining walls were assessed.
Daily life
Chavchavadze Avenue is the district's main street, with offices, the Pullman hotel in Axis Towers and several embassies, among them the Czech Republic's at 37 Chavchavadze Avenue. Relocation guides often describe Vake as popular with diplomats, embassy families and international-school families, and the universities bring a large student population. Central Vake is largely flat around the avenue, while the upper streets towards Bagebi and Tskneti are hilly and more car-dependent.
Letting a flat in Vake
For long lets, Vake asks the highest rent per m² in the city, USD 15.1 a month in July 2026 according to Galt & Taggart, and the asking range runs from about USD 700 to 1,500 a month and more. For short stays, Airbtics counted 583 listings in Vake with an average nightly rate of USD 50, above its city-wide rate of USD 45. A high rent does not mean a high yield, because prices are higher still; work through both sides in our guides to rents by district and Airbnb in Tbilisi.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The city's highest rent per m² | Gross yield of about 5.7%, below the city average |
| Vake Park, Mziuri and Turtle Lake | No metro station |
| Main university and international schools nearby | Traffic on the main avenues, as our Tbilisi guide notes |
| Strong demand from families and diplomats | Large towers and building sites in the district |
| Rebuilt streets and parks | Prices that swing between months in district data |
To be added by the team: photos for the team to take: Chavchavadze Avenue at Tbilisi State University, Vake Park and its fountains, the Turtle Lake ropeway, an older Vake block, a new tower, Mziuri Park, the Tskneti road at Bagebi and a typical residential courtyard.
Checking a flat in Vake step by step
Place the address
Central Vake, Bagebi, the plateau or the hills.
Compare like with like
Registered sales in the same building and street.
Price the finishing
White-frame figures exclude it.
Test the commute
Morning peak, school run and metro.
Check the neighbours' plans
Permits for towers or sites next door.
Run the yield
Rent against the full price, not the headline rent.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a flat in Vake per m²?
New flats from developers averaged USD 3,180 per m² in white frame in July 2026, according to Galt & Taggart.
What is the rent in Vake?
USD 15.1 per m² a month for a new flat in July 2026, about USD 831 for 55 m².
Is there a metro in Vake?
No. The nearest stations are on Line 2 in Saburtalo and Rustaveli on Line 1.
Are Vashlijvari and Lisi part of Vake?
No, they are in Saburtalo district; Bagebi and the Nutsubidze Plateau are in Vake district.
Which international schools are in Vake district?
New School in Bagebi and the German International School on the Tskneti road, among others.
Is Vake a good investment?
It offers high rents and steady demand, but a gross yield of about 5.7%, below the city average.
How is the air in Vake?
No automatic station measures it; city-wide PM2.5 is within Georgia's limit but above the WHO guideline.
What happened to the Vake Park hotel?
It was cancelled in January 2020 after a 6-year campaign.
Sources
- Tbilisi agglomeration air quality management plan 2024-2026, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, approved 17 September 2024 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Vake district, 2014 census, City Population, citing Geostat (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential real estate, November 2024, April 2025, September 2025, 2025 overview and July 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Residential real estate prices in Tbilisi, first quarter of 2026, 1TV, citing Geostat, 23 April 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Residential property price index, second quarter of 2026, Geostat, 23 July 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Average price of a square metre in Tbilisi, GBC, citing TBC Capital (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi apartment sales edge up in November, Georgia Today, citing TBC Capital, 26 December 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential market monthly watch, March 2026, TBC Capital (accessed 21 October 2026)
- What it costs to rent an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia Today, 17 August 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Fares, Tbilisi Transport Company (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Turtle Lake ropeway, 1TV, 17 July 2019, and University-Bagebi ropeway, Georgia Today, 19 April 2021 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Traffic changes on Chavchavadze Avenue, 1TV, 7 September 2025, and Tsereteli and Cholokashvili streets reopen, 1TV, 9 September 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- New tram line project, Imedi, 7 September 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Expansion of hourly parking zones, 1TV, 25 June 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Fact sheet, Tbilisi State University, July 2024 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- About our school, New School, and International schools in Tbilisi, International Schools Database (accessed 21 October 2026)
- 60th anniversary of School No 199, Parliament of Georgia, May 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Rehabilitation of Vake Park fountains, Georgia Today, 16 July 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Mziuri Park reopened with EU support, EU Delegation to Georgia, 13 June 2020 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Zoo relocation and Mziuri green space, 1TV, 11 September 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Activists win 6-year battle against the Vake Park hotel, OC Media, January 2020 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Major changes to Tbilisi's tallest skyscraper project, Georgia Today, 21 January 2025, and VR Tower Tbilisi, Werner Sobek (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Former student halls on Chavchavadze Avenue, Wikipedia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi land use master plan, decision No 39-18, 15 March 2019, Legislative Herald of Georgia, and tax and legal brief, PwC Georgia, April 2019 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Axis Towers, Dezeen, 16 May 2019, and Namai Vake opens, Entrepreneur Georgia, 24 June 2022 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Landslide on the Vashlijvari-Nutsubidze road, Georgia Today, 18 March 2021 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Contacts, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Tbilisi (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Best neighbourhoods in Tbilisi for expats, ExpatDen (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Airbnb revenue in Tbilisi, Airbtics (accessed 21 October 2026)
Change log
- - Area guide published from Galt & Taggart, Geostat and TBC Capital data, the 2024 Tbilisi air quality plan, Tbilisi Transport Company and City Hall notices, university and school sources, and reporting on planning cases.